The Future of the Timelords
by DD Agent
Summary: Ten months on from 3.13, and Martha is once again thrust into peril with an interesting new friend, the Doctor and an old enemy. TenMartha and an OC character to boot. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Doctor Who: The Future of the Timelords by DD Agent**

**Chapter One**

After watching the excellent series finale of 'New Who' Series 3, I decided to start this on going Doctor Who saga. It's a shot in the foot really, as I have so many outstanding projects, but I just couldn't resist this little one. Kirsten Smith is my creation, as is her workmates and relations. However, all the Doctor Who and Torchwood characters belong to the wonder that is BBC Wales and RTD.

Hope you enjoy and review if you like. Spoilers up till The Last of the Timelords (3.13). The story is set about April 2008, just when Series 4 should be starting. I've only watched New Who, so if I have anything wrong concerning Old Who, please forgive me and let me know. With that said, lets continue on to the story! Allons-y!

* * *

Kirsten Smith had a broken leg. She knew that. The doctor knew that. Why she was being ridiculed to a mass amount of tests was anyone's guess. Apparently, they had found an infection in her blood work, one that they had to check out. Kirsten personally thought that they had been watching too much _House, M.D._ and were trying to find something out of nothing.

A friendly woman came up to her cubicle: her skin and hair dark and beautiful. Her nametag said she was 'Martha Jones'. Kirsten shifted up to the head of her hospital bed, expecting more results and yet again more tests. Thank god she was still with the NHS and didn't have to pay for them. A while ago, she had nearly been talked into joining some private medical firm.

"Hi Kirsten, my name is Martha Jones and I'm going to be your doctor for a bit until they get the results back from the blood cultures,"

Kirsten just nodded. She was a very silent person, and she often didn't say anything unless it had to be said. When she got her migraines (which were on a regular basis), she could only use the basics. Kirsten guessed she must have adopted her habit into her every day speech.

"I just need to get some background history. Is that okay?"

Nod.

"Does anyone in your family have at present or in the past had any major illnesses?"

Shrug.

"Don't you know?"

Shake.

"Why not?"

"Raised by someone else,"

"Adopted parents?"

"Something like that. Can I go now? It's just a broken leg for gods sake," Kirsten asked, noticing the red haired doctor on the edges of her vision.

"I just need the blood work back from Doctor Murphy and then we can let you go," Martha replied, following Kirsten's gaze and seeing that very doctor.

Martha went over to Murphy, just out of earshot of the patient. The blood work was clean, whatever anomaly was there before had disappeared. She hadn't been briefed on what the problem was exactly, so Martha had no idea why they had kept someone so long with just a break in their bone. Looking back over to Kirsten, Martha noticed her fiddling with some sort of chain around her neck. She thought nothing of it and returned to Doctor Murphy. But something in the back of her brain urged her to look again. Kirsten Smith was sitting in her hospital bed, fiddling with a key around a piece of straggly string. A key which had a small chip embedded in it. The same sort of key which the Doctor had given to her and Jack just before they had taken down the Master.

Dr. Murphy didn't noticed Martha's shocked face; instead he proceeded to Kirsten's bed and told her she could leave. But only with a pair of crutches. Kristen stood up and hobbled to the doors at the edge of the ward, but Martha followed. She knew her patient was desperate to get out of the hospital, but she still had a few queries to ask of her.

"Kirsten?"

She turned round to face Martha who looked like she had a question. With a raise of her eyebrows, Kirsten indicated that she wanted Martha to continue.

"Where did you get that key?" Martha asked, her legs starting to shake with anxiety. It couldn't be the same key. It just couldn't.

"I've had it since I was a child," Kirsten replied, knowing that a shrug wouldn't alleviate Martha's curious questions.

"What does it open?" Martha pressed.

"God knows. Is that all?" Kirsten asked, just as one of the nurses brought over a pair of crutches for Kirsten to balance her injured leg on.

"Yes."

And Martha let her walk out. She had no choice. She so wanted to talk to her, to tell her what she thought the key opened and the magical time she had travelling around in it. But she couldn't. The Doctor, if he ever came back and found out, would never forgive her. Torchwood may be on the good side with Jack in charge, but there was still UNIT. And UNIT were still gung ho about aliens, especially the Doctor.

What Martha didn't know was that shortly she was going to see a lot more of Kirsten Smith.

**XXX**

Kirsten stumbled out of the taxi and hobbled over to the building that she called work. The Tyler Historical Centre, funded and founded by a Welsh organisation called Torchwood was an impressive building, standing three stories high and about two houses wide. It was a museum of obscure artefacts that held a library of weird and wonderful books and hosted a laboratory monitoring the timeline.

For Kirsten had a gift. Some people could go into their kitchen and immediately sense that something was out of place. The twenty- six year old could instantly sense on the moment she woke up whether something was wrong with time itself. The first time it had happened, she had ignored the nauseating feeling. And then her ten-year-old stepdaughter to be Maddy brought in a play of Shakespeare's that had never been written. It was at that moment she had known that she was different.

Nodding at the receptionist Doris, Kirsten used the lift to go up to her office on the top floor. As she hopped to the beige painted room, the historian noticed that there was a message waiting for her on her answer phone.

"Hi Kirsten. This is Ianto Jones from Torchwood. I just wanted to let you know that the 'CEO' here, Jack Harkness, will be calling later to day to check on the timeline. I know you usually call if there is any problem, but he just wants to make sure. Thank you and good luck with the fundraiser on Saturday."

Kirsten deleted the message from the machine, instead opting to go through her post. They had been on strike again, and so there had been a significant back up of letters and packages.

_"…my name is Martha Jones…"_

Kirsten thought back to the doctor at the hospital. A year ago, Martha Jones had been a legend. Now, she was just a doctor working at some random London Hospital. The year that never was, oh Kirsten remembered that. She had spent most of it stuck in the basement, her head pounding and throwing up. It had been a massive change in the timeline, one that had nearly driven her insane.

The day passed without further incident, and Kirsten made her way home to the house she shared with her fiancé Bradley. His daughter Maddy from his first marriage (his wife had been killed in the Cybermen attack) lived there too: it was like one big, happy family.

As she walked down the street, the key around her neck began to hum. It didn't happen very often, just on occasion. It hadn't stopped humming around eighteen months ago, and then stopped just as quick as it had begun. Grumbling about the family heirloom she had around her neck, a shiver went up her spine. Turning around, she saw the blue box.

It was standing in the middle of the road, yet no one could see it. Kirsten walked up to it and stroked the wood on the edge, smiling as it trembled beneath her fingers. The key around her neck hummed insistently, and Kirsten was about to slide her nails underneath the door to open it but stopped. Someone's mobile rang, breaking the mood.

Turning away from the blue box, she trundled back home. It was stored away in the caverns of her knowledgeable mind, ready to be brought out later. The door to the box opened and a man stepped out. Black trousers, white shirt, black leather jacket. He watched her go and smiled to himself. The Doctor would have to be told about the girl, but not before he had a chance to meet her himself. She had a key to the Tardis, and that was worth investigating by itself. All he had to do now was loosen the chains.

**XXX**

Kirsten put the key in the lock and was met by her partner. Bradley encircled his arms around her and she shrugged into his scent, smiling at the familiarity of it all.

"Have a nice day?" Bradley asked.

"It was fine apart from the broken leg," Kirsten mumbled, leaning on Bradley in an effort to get to the sitting room. She found that the leg hurt less than it had this morning, and she could walk well on her own.

Sitting down in one of the green armchairs, Kirsten was joined by Maddy on her lap. The evening passed with a film on the tele, a takeaway in the kitchen and eventually bed. As Kirsten looked out of the window, she noticed a man leaning against a lamppost. He didn't seem to be doing anything except loiter on her street. Coming to the conclusion that he was just waiting for someone, Kirsten crawled into bed beside Bradley and fell asleep. She couldn't have known that tomorrow morning would bring a new life, a new family, and one hell of a ride compared to her somewhat suburban existence.


	2. Chapter 2

**Doctor Who: The Future of the Timelords by DD Agent**

**Chapter Two**

I really wanted to thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter: they made my day. I hope that this chapter lives up to the promise of the first, which I think it does. Spoilers, warnings, and disclaimers are the same as the first chapter.

Also, just a little personal ad here: anyone with downloadable clips from the last three eps of Doctor Who for my vidding pleasure would be my new hero, so please email me if you have them available or could be available in some download site. Also, my Wallpaper muse is on overdrive at present, and in a week and a half have produced seven Doctor Who wallpapers, a mix of the finale episodes with the lovely John Simm and David Tennant. If anyone is interested in having them, I'll be more than willing to email them to you.

Have fun, and please review if you like - DD

* * *

Kirsten was awoken by the sound of toast coming out of the toaster, and the kettle being boiled. It was Tuesday morning, the start of another day. Her head was hurting a little, but she attributed that to the painkillers the doctors had prescribed for her leg. She found that Western Medicine didn't really do much except give her a headache.

"Bloody pills," Kirsten muttered as she got up. The first thing she did was look out of the window. The man from last night was gone, and there was nothing to attribute to where he had disappeared to. Then Kirsten noticed that her leg was feeling better. Much better. It still twinged when she moved, but it was all right to walk on now. Leaving her crutches by the wall, Kirsten left her bedroom.

She moved down the stairs to join her fiancé in the kitchen, staring at the mass of photos decorating the walls there. Downstairs, Bradley didn't say anything about her leg, he just raised his eyebrows. Kirsten smirked and picked a couple of slices out of the toaster and spread them with _marmite_. The small television was currently on some early morning kids show, which was instantly switched over to the news now that Kirsten had entered. Maddy grumbled slightly as her coloured friends disappeared in favour of the news.

"It is now confirmed that former Prime Minister, Harold Saxon, committed suicide. His body was found on a pyre in the West County over ten months ago, cause of death undetermined. The only person said to be of some help would be his widow Lucy Saxon, and as of last week was a missing person. Scotland Yard, who accepted the responsibility of the case after MI5 finished with it, announced that Mrs. Saxon had eventually come forward. The spokesperson revealed that Mr. Saxon, former PM, killed himself after the death of President Winters and the tragedy that was Earth's official first contact. Now over to Natasha in London with a live report. Natasha, what can you tell us?"

After the brief report, Kirsten switched it back to the cartoon that Maddy was desperate to watch. The child smiled at her stepmother to be and munched on her chocolate cereal. It seemed that Kirsten was the only one who remembered Harold Saxon, or 'The Master', as what he really was. A monster.

"Poor bloke. He would have done great for the country," Bradley mumbled, taking a swig of his morning coffee. He had voted for the alien, even promoted him, and gone to political support meetings. Kirsten hadn't voted at all, she hadn't trusted Harry Saxon from the beginning, and his competitor was pathetic.

"Yeah. Great."

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. I'm going to get dressed, okay?" Kirsten announced, placing a comforting hand on Maddy's shoulder before going upstairs.

In her bedroom, she opened the wardrobe and picked out a pair of black jeans and a red shirt. Kirsten tied her hair up in a high ponytail and made sure her key was tight around her neck. She had nearly lost it once, in the year that never was, and it had nearly broken her heart. It was the last trace of her mother that she had left, because she had murdered when Kirsten was only a baby. Her father had run off, so she was left in a sort of foster care system. Life growing up was hard, but Kirsten didn't complain. She was alive and that was all that mattered.

She left the crutches in her bedroom, her leg feeling much better. In the hall, she kissed Physics teacher Bradley goodbye and made sure that Maddy had her lunch and books for her day at school. It took about half an hour to get to work just in a taxi, and she preferred to walk about twenty minutes of that to cut congestion times.

Kirsten was half way down the road when her head began to pound. The drumming was loud and painful in her head; throbbing incessantly and making her eyes ache with the pressure. Her legs slipped out from under her and she clattered to the pavement, chucking up her breakfast. A car stopped just to the side of her, and a man climbed out beside her.

"Miss? Miss, are you alright?" the man asked, and Kirsten noticed through the haze of pain that he was a cabbie.

"Get…me…inside…cab. Tyler…Historical…Centre…" Kirsten managed to get out, and the cabbie (against his better judgements, which was to go to the hospital) half dragged Kirsten inside the back of his taxi. As soon as the doors were shut, Kirsten began to feel a lot better. Enclosed spaces with nothing open seemed to help her. The cold air and constant rain meant no windows open at the Clarkson- Smith household this morning was why the pounding hadn't started when she woke up.

Something was wrong with the timeline, Kirsten was sure of it. Nothing had really happened in the ten months since the year that was reversed itself, except for the odd headache at Christmas that (from what she could tell) had something to do with the Titanic. It was sorted out eventually though, and she had been enjoying blissful peace with her body ever since. When she got these pains, she was supposed to call Torchwood HQ in Cardiff.

Ever since she had run into an alien down in Wales and had been helped by Ianto Jones, Kirsten was classed as Torchwood asset. She had told Ianto about her ability that had started April last year, and he had talked to his boss, who was very interested in studying changes in the timeline. However, the only connection she had to Torchwood at that very moment was the phone in her office. Ever since all the mobile networks had scrambled to join Archangel, Kirsten had stopped using it. Even with the death of its founder Harry Saxon, she still couldn't use it.

It took them a while to reach her work. She passed a fifty-pound note to the cabbie, not worried about how much the fare cost. She got out of the car as soon as she could, her head feeling as if it was being squashed by several tons of pressure. Kirsten raced inside and locked the door, her face pasty. Doris was nowhere to be seen, as was none of the other staff she had hired: Dave, Suzanne, Phil, Aaron, Aimee, Lee and others. She used the lift up to her office, her legs trembling. The broken one had begun to stab with pain, but then again so had every cell in her body.

Going into her office, she went straight to the phone and dialled the number from memory. She had had to use it several times over the past year, concerning a variety of things, from Shakespeare to New York, a couple of incidents in Hull and the Titanic obviously. Kirsten listened to the tone, waiting to be connected. There was none. Looking over to the corner, she realised that the phone line had been cut. It wasn't an accidental cut either: someone had deliberately cut off all the phones.

A sense of dread grew in the pit of her stomach, and it became difficult to breathe. Kirsten looked over to the frosted windows and saw that someone was coming, and breathing got even harder. The footsteps were growing closer and closer, and Kirsten's heart rate increased. Someone had cut her phone line, and the research they were doing was not exactly the safe and normal sort. She quickly ducked under her desk and calmed her breathing, upset that she hadn't taken up the offer from Ianto a couple of months ago about a gun.

"Kirsten?" a voice called out as her office door open. It was just the doctor from yesterday. The historian twisted herself above her desk and looked straight at Martha Jones.

"Doctor Jones?" Kirsten inquired, her hand placed above her heart in an effort to slow down her heart rate.

"Is everything alright? I came to check up on you from yesterday, and there was no one at the reception. Is everyone off for the day?"

"I have no idea. All I do know is that the phone line is cut," Kirsten announced and sat down on her chair. Adrenalin was still pumping through her veins.

"Why is your phone line cut?"

Shrug.

"How's the leg?"

"Fine. No one is around?

"Nope," Martha announced, before checking the pulse on Kirsten's neck and asking her to breathe in and out. While this was going on, they didn't notice that the frosted door had opened again.

They both turned to the door, and saw a figure step through. It was none of Kirsten's staff, and what's more it wasn't the typical thing you would find in an office, even one that dealt with historical timelines.

"Who are you?" the figure asked. He or she was cloaked in dark material, with a hood hiding what seemed to be a silver mask. Martha looked at Kirsten worryingly for a moment, before her gaze returned to the figure. During her time in the TARDIS, she had never seen a figure such as this, because it was certainly not human due to the metal plated hands it seemed to have.

"Martha Jones. This is Kirsten Smith," Martha announced, before ducking down and taking Kirsten with her. The mysterious figure had pulled a gun on the girls and had fired at the historian.

The figure continued to fire at the girls, both of them clutching each other for protection under the small of Kirsten's desk.

"What the hell is going on?"

"I have no idea!" Martha announced, not comforting Kirsten in the slightest.

"Well I think we've found the reason why my staff members seemed to be missing," Kirsten stated, before throwing the pot of pencils at the mysterious figure.

"Do you think they're dead?" Martha asked, just as the firing stopped. The desk they were hiding behind was ripped from above them, exposing the two women to the harsh sunlight streaming through and the figure with the gun. Kirsten's heartbeat was going in to overdrive, her body producing far more adrenalin than it could handle. Martha was scared as well, where was the Doctor when you needed him? Probably off with another assistant, Martha thought, trying to ignore the stab of jealousy she felt in her stomach and concentrate on the matter at hand.

"Do you know why you are to be executed?" asked the figure in a gravely tone. Kirsten assumed he was male, just because of that.

"No. But I take it has something to do with either my talent or what we do here at the Tyler Centre," Kirsten figured, and tried to control her breathing. If she didn't regulate it soon, she was going to hyperventilate. At that point, she would be no use whatsoever to Martha and herself.

"You disturb the waves of time with your gift. For that, my associates ask that you die," replied gravely/grim reaper man, as Kirsten named him impulsively. She had a thing for naming people. Yesterday, she had named two women at the bus stop Old Lady #1 and Old Lady # 2.

Martha turned to Kirsten as if to inquire what the assassin meant by 'Waves of Time'. She certainly hadn't heard anything like that when she was with the Doctor, and he had said a lot of time travel gobbledegook.

"What do you mean by the waves of time?" Martha asked, hopefully buying them a few more minutes by asking their armed 'friend' questions. She checked around the room one last time for anything that might subdue him, but it was a lost cause.

"It means that Miss. Smith's little gift stops the ripples of time from altering too much. She keeps the timeline on the straight and narrow, without letting the current drift it off. That about right big fella?" explained a chippy voice from the doorway.

All three persons in the office turned to this new arrival. Martha beamed on site of the figure of the Doctor, dressed in his brown trench coat, converse shoes, and standard issue blue suit. Kirsten just raised an eyebrow at the flamboyant figure. The assassin turned towards the Doctor, and was distracted for half a second. That half a second was all Kirsten needed to throw the pot containing her spider plant on his hand, breaking the pottery and knocking him out cold.

"Nice job," the Doctor replied appreciatively to Kirsten as she wiped a soil smudge off her cheek.

"We better go, I don't know how long he'll be out," Kirsten stated informatively, and ran out the door, leaving Martha behind.

The Doctor made a little jerk with his head for him and his former partner to follow, before giving Martha the biggest smile she had ever seen. The sight made her body go all warm, right down to the tips of her toes. Maybe she needed more time on her own to move on from her unrequited love.

"We need to follow her."

The two ran down the corridor after Kirsten, ignoring the lift and instead pelting it down the stairs. They met Kirsten in reception, desperately trying to call the police on the phone there. The historian was like a jack in the box, bouncing all over the walls. Turning to see the pair of time travellers, she quickly moved on to the room adjacent to the reception: the beginning of the museum.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you!" The Doctor cried out in alarm.

As Kirsten opened the door, she was met by the bodies of her staff members, gutted like fish. She gagged at the wall for a moment, trying to stop her body chucking up what was left of the breakfast she hadn't thrown up earlier. Kirsten didn't stop the tears flowing down her face as she saw the bodies of her colleagues and friends. She felt a blue-sleeved arm on her shoulder, and turned to the face of the Doctor.

"We have to get you out of here. The man upstairs came for you and your staff and you are the only one left. We need to go somewhere safe," the Doctor explained softly, making his voice sound reassuring and comforting.

"Where can we go?" Kirsten asked, looking to him for some sort of answer. It was true, if they could find her here, in one of Torchwoods associates, nowhere was safe.

"I have a place," the Doctor replied, before holding out his hand. "I'm the Doctor by the way, and this is Martha. You two seem to already know each other."

All three of them left the building just as the police arrived on scene. All three walked past the local coffee shop just as they could hear gunfire on the top floor. Kirsten noticed that they were going the same route she walked home. It wasn't until she saw the blue box that she began to slot things in to place.

This was _the_ Doctor. Torchwood and UNIT's greatest foe and sometimes ally. The Doctor stepped in the blue box like it was nothing, and Martha got in smiling. Kirsten stroked the outside of the wood as she had done yesterday and felt the vibrations move up her arm and ignite the key she wore under her shirt. It was only then that she noticed the keyhole in the door. It was like the key was meant for that slot alone. Like she was meant for this blue box alone. Ignoring the shivers that moved up her back and the pressure growing in her skull, Kirsten stepped inside.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Sorry it's taken so long for me to put up the new chapter (almost a year). I hope you do enjoy this continuation of the story, and thanks for all the reviews I have on this so far. :D

Disclaimers, spoilers and such are the same as the previous two stories. The plot remains the same, but it does thicken such in this chapter.

Hope you enjoy and R and R if you please - DD

* * *

As soon as she stepped into the Tardis, Kirsten's head began to calm down. The Doctor and Martha milled around her, chatting animatedly about things. He switched levers and pulled plugs but Kirsten just stood there. After what seemed like an eternity, the Doctor spoke to her.

"Are you alright? Kirsten, is it?" he asked, and she just nodded. There was nothing she could really say to this man anyway. He was a complete stranger; and so, in fact, was Martha Jones. She looked up at him and gave a brief smile. It was all she could manage to do in the circumstances.

"No 'oh, its bigger on the inside' or anything?" he joked, but Kirsten merely shrugged. The inside of the Tardis hadn't bothered her, it was more the sense that she knew this place that did.

"Kirsten do you have any idea why that man was chasing you?" this time it was Martha that asked the question. The young historian once again shook her head.

The Doctor took Martha over to one side and they murmured to each other for a few minutes. They kept glancing back at Kirsten, but she didn't worry. Instead she sat down on the floor of the Tardis, her knees raised to her chin.

"Kirsten, me and Martha are going to have a look around and make sure no one followed is, okay? If you stay inside the Tardis you will be completely safe. All right?"

A nod. She wished for the time to be by herself, to think, to feel. With a small pat on her shoulder, the two friends left the Tardis and Kirsten to her thoughts. As soon as she heard the wooden doors clamp shut, tears began to well up in her eyes.

All her friends, all her co-workers were dead. She had had to endure that last year, but all over again was something else. Tears began to drip down her cheeks and a wailing cry came from her lips. Grief and hate overtook her. She rested both palms flat against the large console in an effort to steady herself and her mind. Her necklace, given to her by her mother, swung around her neck and hit the space in between her hands. There was a spilt second of apprehension, of silence, and then the entire Tardis lit up like a Christmas tree.

Kirsten flung herself back, and the lights on the console immediately died down. The only light was from the translucent windows of the Tardis, and of the mysterious door that her back now rested against. Swallowing her tears and her fear, Kirsten opened the door a crack and stepped through. If the control room of the Tardis could fit inside the apparent police box, then by all intents and purposes the whole of this great machine could be massive. She walked past three doors just examining the extent of the place. It was likely that she would have carried on walking had she not heard singing behind one of the doors she was passing.

"_But I don't feel like dancin' when the old Joanna plays;_

_My heart could take a chance but my two feet can't find the way;_

_You'd think that I could muster up a little soft shoe gentle sway;_

_But I don't feel like dancin' no sir no dancin' today."_

The door to the room holding the mysterious singer opened suddenly. Kirsten gasped and took a giant step back, but still not out of the stranger's eye line. The singer was a handsome man clad only in a towel. Kirsten's brain assumed that the room she had stopped at had been a bathroom. His eyes finally rested on hers and they both screamed.

#

Twenty minutes later, Kirsten found herself sitting in the control room of the Tardis with a cup of Earl Grey and a packet of hobnob biscuits. Opposite her was the now dressed mysterious singer. He wore a leather jacket and suit trousers, but no tie. He was staring at her intently before he spoke.

"Not used to singing men in towels?" he asked.

"No."

"You need to get out more."

They sat in silence for a brief moment before Kirsten set her cup down. She leaned back against one of the arches of the machine and looked straight into his eyes. Inside, her heart was beating fast. _I am not afraid. I am not afraid. _

"Never thought I'd get to meet the Prime Minister."

"Ex Prime Minister. The never was Prime Minister."

"The Prime Minister of the year that never was," Kirsten finished, picking up her cup again to take sip.

She smiled at the man who had made her life a living hell for an entire year. The man whose actions had driven her to near death, near insanity. And he here sat, drinking his tea and nibbling on a biscuit. Smug and smarmy and so deadly _handsome_ that Kirsten might scream. But he was as handsome as a lion could be. That thought jogged her back to her senses; the man in front of her was dangerous.

"Mr Saxon. How have you been? Or do you prefer the Master?" Kirsten announced, and he choked on his tea a little. Everyone knew the name Saxon, but no one knew of what could have happened. To everyone he was dead. But apparently not.

"Whatever you deem appropriate. I didn't catch your name in this use of semantics. It is?" he replied, using his charm. A warm feeling grew in the pit of Kirsten's stomach, but then revulsion replaced it. This was the _bastard_ that had ordered the execution of a tenth of the population. He was not boyfriend material. Scrap heap material would be more accurate.

"Kirsten. Kirsten Smith."

"The timeline girl. Oh, I know all about you. The young woman who can sense ripples in the waves of time. Must have given you quite a headache in the year that never was, huh?" he chuckled, but a fist to his jaw broke him out of his jolly reverie.

Kirsten had wanted to do this for so long. Just to punish the man that had killed everyone she had ever killed about, taken everything away from her. She hit him again, this time harder, repeating her words over to him, again and again.

"It never happened! Time reversed itself!" he gasped through a bloody mouth.

"But I still had to live through it!" Kirsten exclaimed, her emotions overtaking her.

However, the Master soon got the upper hand and clamped his hands around her throat. He dragged her exhausted body up to one of the arches on the Tardis and held her there. Her legs dangled and she tried to kick him but to no avail. She was close to passing out when the front doors to the Tardis opened and the Doctor and Martha strode through.

"Coast is clear…no!" cried a voice, probably the Doctors, and Kirsten felt herself bring wrenched out of the Masters grip. Then everything went black.

X

When she awoke, it was under Martha's tender care. A cold flannel had been placed atop her head, and the young Doctor was whispering reassuring words to make her come around. Everything hurt at first, and when she looked around she settled on her female comrade. Things seem to centre, the pain seemed to lessen as well. She was smiling, but it was bitter. There was anger there, directed at the man sitting on the console wearing a pair of glasses. The Doctor. The Master was close by, hands encircled by steel cuffs.

Martha offered Kirsten a hand to lift her up so she could join in the conversation. The tea she had been drinking was now stone cold and scattered on the floor due to their scuffle, so Martha handed her a fresh one. The former companion turned to the Doctor, eyes blazing with fury.

"Can you tell me what is going on? And how and _why _HE is here?" Martha shouted, her voice showing signs of obvious anger, but naturally betrayal as well. She had been hurt by the Masters year of power just as badly as anyone.

The Doctor was sad, it was echoed in his features. He glanced at the handcuffed Master before he spoke. They shared an unspoken look of brotherhood between them.

"I was lonely, ever so lonely Martha. You wanted to finish your training, and Jack had to return to Torchwood. He offered me a chance to have family once again. A friend."

"My wife, Lucy, brought me back. Used my ring. But UNIT stopped her, cheerful fellows. They've got her in custody. The Doctor managed to rescue me, he saved me from being stuck in a holding cell with the bitch that tried to shoot me."

"Pity she brought you back at all if you ask me," Kirsten muttered from the corner, and she and the Master exchanged looks.

"But he's safe in here, I promise you that Martha. He can't leave the Tardis and go outside into the world; I put a chip under layers of epidermis to stop that from happening. He can just about step outside, but that's about it. He can't use any of the controls, which is a good thing because he can barely use the microwave in the kitchen." The Doctor explained. "Are you okay, Martha?"

She got up from Kirsten's side and threw her arms around his neck. They embraced and the Master rolled his eyes. He then turned to Kirsten and gave her a lustful smile. "Fancy a hug?"

Kirsten responded with a flip of the middle finger. She used the main console to steady herself as she moved around, the Master following her every move. She turned around and yelled at him.

"You two, behave," The Doctor warned.

"The Tardis followed her."

"What?" Both the Doctor and Martha turned to look at the Master and then at Kristin. She was also interested in this latest development. Seeing her in the flesh made the Master realise that there was something awfully special about Kirsten Smith, something that the Doctor should have been told earlier about.

"When you were sleeping last night, I felt the Tardis move, and we were taken to just outside this house. She was there; she came right up to the Tardis. She could see it Doctor, and I will bet anything it's due to one of those _Blue Peter_ fashioned keys you made that is currently around her neck."

Kirsten instinctively hung on to the thing around her neck, but the Doctor managed to coax her into letting him have a look with his screwdriver. It was the exact same key he had made and stuck on a piece of string. What's more, it was exactly the same one that he had currently stuffed in his pocket.

"That's impossible. Who gave you this?" the Doctor asked, and he could just about hear the mumbled words of 'parents' from her lips.

"Doctor?"

"I don't know what's going on Martha, but I think it has something to do with the key around Kirsten's neck, and her particular talent around the timeline."

It was after he said those words that the Tardis started up on its own, and they were plunged around the room. Lights flashed and the sounds whirred around them. After a few minutes the hum of the machine died down, and they all turned towards the doors, worried about where they were and what was outside them. The two Time lords exchanged grins and made their ways to the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

I'm going great guns with this story at the moment. There's a part of me that wants to get it finished desperately, over and done with. But there's another larger part that's enjoying the ride to get to the big finale. We're about half way through now, the point of no return. I hope you do enjoy, and keep reviewing!

Disclaimer and spoilers the same as other chapters. And thank you to Seventh Sanctum who helped me with the name of the alien races.

XxX

Kirsten and Martha exchanged a look as the two Time lords raced to be the first to the door. Even though the Master was quicker on his feet, his cuffed hands made it impossible for him to see where they had landed. The Doctor gave a smug look as he pulled open the wooden panels and stuck his head outside. The click of automatic weapons was the first suggestion that that hadn't been the best idea.

A man around the Doctors physical age stepped between the armed gunmen. He had a tidy beard and wore a brown smock and black trousers.

"Please, we will not harm you. We only wish to talk to the female."

"Female?" the Master enquired from the door. Both men knew that this stranger was referring to Kirsten. The brunette clung onto the main console, desperate for something to anchor herself too. Suddenly, the Tardis lit up again, and the gunmen raised their weapons higher.

The Doctor popped his head round into the main area of the Tardis and turned to the two women. He noticed that Kirsten's hands were raised just above the console, as if she had recently pulled away. _The Tardis reacts to her_, he thought,_ how interesting_. The man could see into the Tardis, and saw the two women.

"Please, which one of you is the young lady who can detect ripples through time?" he asked politely. Kirsten made her way to step forward, but Martha moved ahead of her. "I am."

If Kirsten was shocked that a person she had known all of two days was willing to put her life in danger for her, she didn't show it. The Doctor gave a disapproving look at Martha's actions, but she just smiled. Obviously months of being in the Doctors presence had made her a little bit too adventurous. The man ushered Martha forward, and let the other three join them.

"Please, why is that man in chains?" he asked, turning to the Master. The Doctor began to mumble about being a danger to himself and so forth, but their welcoming committee member insisted that he remove them.

"May I ask your name?" The Doctor asked as he grumpily removed the shackles keeping the Master in check. "Alleio," the man replied, bowing slightly to the Doctor as he finished taking off the cuffs.

The Master turned to Kirsten as she went by the pair and whispered, "It's why he won't let me have a tie, he's afraid I might hang myself." Against her better judgement, Kirsten chuckled. They exchanged a brief smile, but nothing more than that as Kirsten was quick to join Martha's side. The Master watched her walk away and the Doctor noted the sense of sadness written on his old enemy's features.

"Don't get involved with a Human. Ends in tears and heartache. For her, more than anything. I did not allow you into my Tardis just so you could make your way through the women of Earth, are we clear?" The Doctor reprimanded, and the Master nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. Kirsten Smith was pretty, with rich brown hair, almost chocolate colour, and eyes to match. She was intelligent, but there was an echoing silence in her features and her voice that made the Master sad for her. And he didn't feel sad for anyone.

"You're right, Doctor, completely right. Wouldn't want another Rose Tyler now, would we?" he shot back, walking at a quick pace to catch up with the girls. The Doctor pushed his anger deep down, not wanting it to come out. Especially because of the Master, as he would use the change of emotion to his devastating advantage.

X

The group of four entered a large planning room, where techs and soldiers were busy preparing for what looked like a war. The Doctor looked over the scene with utter distaste.

"Another war, how marvellous. Plan to be the only survivor of this one too?" the Master growled, but the Doctor silenced him with stamping on his foot.

"I didn't save you from UNIT just so you could be the witty pain in my backside. Try and help."

"And if you do want to comment, make it constructive," Kirsten tagged on the end, giving a flirty smile to the Master. As she turned away to join Martha by the central control, she traced the bruises around her neck. They still stung, and the image of his hands around her throat brought tears to her eyes. _What am I doing flirting with him?_ _I'm going mad; it's the shock factor obviously._

"Now then young lady, we need your help," Alleio began, motioning for them all to take a seat around the large round table. They all did, the Doctor making sure he was seated between the Master and Kristin. Martha was closest to Alleio, as she was pretending to be their desired target.

"We are at war with another race over territory, the Warheart Clan. They believe that the planet we now occupy belongs to them. Our history and genealogy suggests otherwise. Spies inside their camp believe that they are attempting to go back in time and fix this little oversight, allowing them to have the territory all to themselves," Alleio explained, and Martha nodded along.

The Doctor turned to Kristin and watched her reactions through this exchange. Aliens, wars, supposed Prime Ministers back from the dead. Her talent of reacting to changes in the timeline meant that she was well aware of these sorts of things, but no one gets used to such a thing that quickly, unless it was something they were brought up into.

"The Warheart Clan, do you know them?" Kristin whispered to the Doctor, but he shook his head. She got the feeling that this wasn't something he was used to, but then the Master leant forward into their conversation.

"The Warheart Clan are a species who believe that eating the heart of their enemies strengthens them. They promote war instead of peace, and are very territorial. The Shadow Proclamation issued them an ultimatum to stop picking fights in other galaxies, but it still means that they can fight people locally," the Master said, and both Kirsten and the Doctor looked impressed.

"That was very helpful, thank you Master. You'll get a gold star to put on your board when we get back to the Tardis. You think I'm joking Kristin?" asked the Doctor after she had giggled.

"You must be the Cairnfalcon then?" Alleio nodded and pointed to the board.

"Here is our planet. This is where the Warhearts reside. They are striking out constantly at our border, making things harder for us to trade with other planets. But we do have trading partners on Psi 12 who say that there was a Human with a talent who could help us. They didn't give us a name, just said that you were linked to a blue box and the rift. That person would be you Martha."

Martha gave a weak nod, realising that pretending to be Kristin would be a lot harder than she originally thought. Alleio continued, "It was likely that the Warhearts have already tried to kill you, as they too have spies and know of our plans for you to help prevent their schemes."

"Well that solves the mystery of the man in black at your work, Kristin," the Doctor muttered in her ear.

"We will let you go back to your vessel to discuss things; we understand that you may be hesitant in using your particular talent in warfare. But remember this when you deliberate, Martha Jones, the other side in this war would have no qualms about killing you to ensure their mission's successfulness."

With that, the four were escorted back to the Tardis by armed guard. When they reached the machine, they were allowed inside. The Doctor could see the locking mechanism they had attached that would prevent it from moving anywhere. As they got inside the Tardis, the Doctor asked Martha to make them all a cup of tea. The Master was sent to the opposite side of the large room, while he sat Kirsten down. He had questions that needed answers, answers that would be relevant to the future of them all.

X

"Kirsten, there are several things wrong with this situation. First of all, you can sense changes in the timeline, something that not many Time Lords are capable of. You have a key that I made ten months ago that you've had all your life. And third, the whole Tardis alien thing doesn't bother you! I'm an alien, he's an alien, Martha…isn't an alien but she's seen them. Lots of them."

"Would you prefer it if I screamed, if I shrieked, lived in denial until you turned my life around? I've met you before Doctor, although in a different incarnation. I've seen this blue box before, many times," Kirsten explained in a small voice.

"How?"

"My mother was murdered by an alien faction trying to sell organs to the highest bidder. UNIT managed to save me from the same fate, and they raised me. Sometimes I would sneak out of my room into the compound and go see what they were doing. That's when I would see you, and your blue box. I've been surrounded by aliens my entire life, but my 'gift' only started about a year ago."

Kirsten sat back down, and saw that the Master was looking at her in awe. Obviously the way she talked to the Doctor had impressed him. But she was finished. "I try to block out most of what I've seen, and normally it works. Memories disappear, replaced with ones I've made up or of things I've seen on tele. But since I've been in this box everything keeps flooding…" she fell to the floor, screaming in agony.

Martha rushed back, dropping the tea to the floor and going to Kirsten's side. The doors of the Tardis were still open, and the Master could see that Alleio was standing in the doorway. He had heard everything. But they couldn't worry about that now; it looked as if Kirsten's head was going to explode. The Time Lords let Martha look her over, but they both knew what this was.

"CLOSE THE DOORS!" she yelled, screaming in agony afterwards. Alleio ran through the entrance and then carefully closed both doors. He knelt down by Kristin, confusion on his face as to what was going on and why they had lied.

"The timeline, something is wrong with the timeline," Kirsten mumbled, her head now resting in the Masters lap, him stroking her hair in an attempt to calm her down. Ignoring the Doctor's pleading looks, he took the glass that Martha passed him and forced a few sips down her throat.

"We must take her to the command room, so she can direct us to the anomaly!"

"The Tardis has shielding, but she won't last outside. Her head will explode from the pressure, it's the signifier that the timeline has been altered," the Doctor explained. Alleio gave a weak nod.

"Why don't you bring a map or a star chart to Kirsten in here? Shouldn't that help?" Martha enquired, and both men nodded. Alleio asked Martha to join them in bringing the map here, and seeing that her patient was safe in the Masters hands (even though that was a contradiction in terms), she went with them.

The Master placed his leather jacket underneath Kirsten's head and stood up. The face off between the Doctor and him was about to begin. But the Master didn't want to end up in an argument with the Doctor; it was the last thing they needed. When they had first started travelling together, the Master had been stuck in thick chains in the control room to make sure that he wouldn't go anywhere or escape. So he walked away. Kirsten began to whimper slightly as he opened the doors, but he wanted out of the Tardis for a while.

"Why are you caring about her? What's so special about her?"

"Because she's one of us!"

But that was the last part of the argument they had, as the Master was thrown clear of the Tardis onto the white polished floor of the complex. The Tardis whirred and disappeared into thin air, the locking mechanism having been broken. Inside, the Doctor placed a hand under the unconscious Kirsten and held her close, having a disturbing feeling about where they would end up this time.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Thank you to everyone who has put this story on alert, I thank you all! No, seriously, thank you. : D

This is the penultimate chapter of the story, and I hope you all enjoy this. You may have guessed before the end of last chapter about Kirsten, and this should hopefully tie up most of that thread. Oh, and I'm thinking of doing a sequel based on the events of the series 4 finale, but I'm not sure. Did everyone enjoy it enough to warrant a sequel? Please let me know via review or PM.

To Grace, Dan and Miss Bez, my 'DW Crew' (never let me say that again).

Disclaimer and spoilers the same as before.

X

When Kirsten woke up, she realised she was not safe in the Tardis like she assumed she would be. Although she found herself lying atop what could only be the Masters leather jacket, her surroundings were not familiar to her. Lifting her head up, she could see that she was now in a cell. The Doctor was looking out through the bars, face calm and serene.

"The Warheart Clan captured the Tardis. They've got us, they've got you."

Kirsten raised her head to stare directly at the Doctor with a disapproving glare, but she was overwhelmed with nausea and threw up to the left of her. The Time Lord left his post at the bars and went to kneel by the young woman. Rubbing her back gently, he managed to calm down the young woman.

"Well that's just brilliant, Doctor," Kirsten managed.

Seeing that she was slightly better, the Doctor returned to his position. The sudden act of emotion had gone in favour of his silent vigil.

"Is everything alright Doctor?" Kirsten asked, but the Doctor ignored her comment. She repeated her words, louder this time. The Time lord decided to take an interest in the young historian, and knelt down beside her once again. He rested a hand on her chest, feeling her heart beat. Her pulse began to race under his tender fingers, and even more when he moved his hand to the other side.

"You only have one heart."

"No shit Sherlock."

"What I mean…the Master said you were like us, but you have only one hearts. Time lords have two hearts. You don't. Who were your parents?"

"I didn't know my father, he left before I was born. My mother was Joanne Presley, she worked at the local newspaper office."

"Do you have a picture?"

Kirsten looked at the Doctor with a sense of confusion, before reaching into her back pocket and pulling out her wallet. She passed it over to the Doctor, who looked at the picture so carefully placed it in there.

"I knew her, a long time ago, I knew her."

"Does that mean that you knew my…" Kirsten began, but was cut off by the sound of advancing soldiers. A heavy set man with a buzz cut and military clothes walked up to the bars and hissed at the occupants inside.

"I am Deveraux. You will come with me, and allow us what we want. If you do not, you will die a more horrible death than is planned."

"Guess we're going with them," the Doctor announced, and slung an arm underneath Kirsten's back to balance her to their next destination.

X

Martha had raced to where the Tardis had stood, and just remained there staring at the spot where it had once been. The Master was on the opposite side, looking at it with a sense of confusion and loss. Everything he had left had been in that Tardis. She watched as he walked over to the place where the blue box had been, and sat down in its place. He traced the white floor and sighed.

"We'll find them, we'll get them back," Martha tried to reassure, but all she got back was a callous look of despair. She couldn't believe that she was comforting him either. But she joined him in his silent vigil on the floor, the two once enemies now side by side.

"Where would they go?" Martha asked herself, tracing her fingers into a love heart on the floor. She put a giant cross through it, and felt tears well up in her eyes.

"Still pining over the Doctor I see?"

"Its none of your business."

"I can play Doctor, I'll show you…and him." The Master jumped up and pulled out a sonic screwdriver from his pocket. On Martha's look he muttered, "Me and him had a little falling out before I left. I took his screwdriver to piss him off."

"Lets hope he doesn't need it."

The Master pressed the screwdriver to the floor, and at the shattered device that had been holding it in place. "The logical explanation would be that the Warhearts are behind this. Which the screwdriver supports, see the burns on that? Clan tech indeed. Now we have a who, we need a why and how."

As Martha watched the Master bound about the room, exhibiting similar energy that the Doctor had, she began to feel safe in his care. He was examining the nearest computer screen for information when she decided to further his point. "Why and how?"

"Why have they taken Kirsten and the Doctor, and how are we going to get there to rescue them."

"Oh. Well they obviously took Kirsten because of her talent, she can read timelines, and they already tried to kill her. Must want to finish off the job. As for the how, that's more the Doctor's department."

Alleio had come in the room by then, and watched the scene with some shock. By the time Martha had explained what's going on, the Master had got a slab of the ceiling tile and placed it on the floor. He had connected it with wires from the computer and was just finishing off his plans with the screwdriver when Martha turned to him.

"What are you doing?"

"Using this ceiling tile as a base for a teleportation device. It'll follow the same pattern as the Tardis did. We have to get there soon Ms Jones, if they find out the truth about Kirsten then things are going to get a lot worse."

Martha was dragged onto the tile with the Master, who held her waist close to his with one arm. The other held the screwdriver and was pointing at the screen.

"This is completely safe, right?"

"Of course."

"What's the truth about Kirsten?"

"She's half Time lord."

"Oh. WHAT?"

The last thing Martha felt was a strange pulling sensation that starting from her temples and ended at her feet, dragging her across space.

X

Kirsten and the Doctor were shackled up to a large wall, cast iron cuffs encircling all their wrists. The commander of the soldiers milling around, Deveraux, was talking to several of the black clad assassins that had killed all of Kirsten's co-workers and had tried to execute her too.

"Now I recognise them. They're called Gheisho, dark heart assassins. Used by several of the races on the outer galaxies."

"And that is helpful how?" Kirsten exclaimed, her worry turning to fear as one of the men pulled out a large blade, curved at one end. "Oh boy."

"Don't worry Kirsten, everything is going to be okay. I've got my sonic screwdriver in my back pocket. Once I've found a way to get to it, we'll be fine."

Kirsten gulped as she looked at the Doctors pockets and found no trace of any tool. "Hate to make things worse _Rambo_, but there isn't any screwdriver in your pocket." She noticed the look of fury cross the Doctors face and she realised who was responsible. The soldiers and the assassins moved forward, in an orderly pattern, with Deveraux at the head.

"We are at war, and at war there have to be sacrifices. Kirsten Smith you are sentenced to die. Your death will be by a blade to the neck, as firearms did not seem to work as anticipated last time. Slit both their throats."

Deveraux turned away, as did the soldiers. But a loud call of 'wait' by the Doctor stopped him in his tracks, and forced him to turn around. The look on his face was an amused one.

"You can't kill us! Under the 9th Act of Species Protection, no lawfully abiding race under the Shadow Proclamation can kill any member of any race with only four surviving inhabitants," the Doctor relayed, and the Commander began to look infuriated.

"You two are the last two surviving members of a particular race?"

"I'm a Time Lord, the rest of us was extinguished in the Time war. Kirsten is half a Time Lord. My daughter." Kirsten turned around in alarm to face the Doctor, but he was deathly calm. As the Commander and the soldiers discussed these new events, Kirsten turned to the Doctor, "From what I know about you, people try to kill you all the time, why don't they abide by this act?"

"Mostly because they're doing something worse than abiding to a protected species order, and mostly because they don't care!" the Doctor quietened down as the Commander turned back round to face his captives.

"And neither do we. KILL THEM!"

As the assassins moved forward, a blinding light filled the room and in tumbled Martha and the Master on a ceiling tile. Martha was shoved forward, knocking into two of the assassins, and when she got her bearings back she managed to throw their weapons half way across the room. The soldiers started to open fire on the Master, but his use of the sonic screwdriver rendered them useless. He then pointed the tool at their large computer systems, which started to spark and explode.

"Get out of here!" the Commander yelled, and the remaining soldiers rushed to the doors. Martha didn't manage to snag the key for the cuffs as the Commander ran out, but the Master threw the screwdriver to Martha for her to unlock the Doctor. He hugged her as soon as he got out. He then proceeded to undo Kirsten's shackles. As the computers sparked around them, they all then ran to the Tardis for safety. Once inside the machine, the Master began to power it up, to take them back to Alleio to explain what had happened.

Inside, Kirsten passed out, only to be caught and kept in the arms of the Master.

X

She had slept through all the encounter with Alleio, and the visit to the Shadow Proclamation. Martha was quite upset that she couldn't see what was going on inside, as Kirsten needed someone to watch her. It wasn't long before they had returned to Earth, just outside Kirsten's house. The Doctor had asked to walk her to her door.

"If you want, we can talk some more tomorrow about…"

"No."

"Do you even want to know about me and your mother?" The Doctor asked, and Kirsten whipped around, looking straight at him.

"Yes. Please."

The Doctor struggled to get the words out, but managed to eventually. "Out of the Time war I was a bitter man, hating everyone and everything. One day I met this woman, beautiful and serene: your Mother. I believed that I could be human, that I could love and live with her. We were a couple, until the Tardis called me back. I didn't know she was pregnant, had no idea. I'm sorry."

Kirsten took the information in, gracefully, but said no words. All she did was slam the front door in the Doctor's face. Bradley was there, waiting for her, acting as if nothing was wrong. He pulled her into a gentle hug, wiping away the tears with his thumb.

"Everything alright Kirsten?"

"As alright as it can be."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

This is the final chapter sob hope you enjoy it, and I hope you have enjoyed the story on the whole. Thank you to all the people who reviewed or stuck this story on their favourites or alerts this, thank you very much.

Disclaimer and spoilers the same as before xxx

X

The Doctor stood outside the door he had been so many times in another life, another regeneration. He traced the wood frame of the door, and smiled at the early eighties colour scheme. Knocking gently on the wood, he rested his hand against it trying to balance himself.

_"Joanne…"_

_"Shh…don't talk." _

He had loved many women in his life, in many different regenerations. Joanne had been the first to love him in his 9th incarnation, Rose the second. Although the Doctor now believed that she had preferred him in his younger ways now, instead of the man he was when they had met, he knew that she had loved him even then.

The door opened, and there she stood. Eyes crinkling, as beautiful as the day he had met her. A young girl was on her hip, brown hair like hers. _Kirsten_. She looked so young, so innocent. Fully unaware of the talent that she possessed, or the legacy she carried.

"Hello, Ms Presley. I'm a friend of John Smith's."

_"Tell me you love me."_

_"I love you with all my heart and soul."_

She let him in, anxious to hear what he had to say. He said that John loved her, and was called away to help an old friend the day he left. In the attempt of saving his old friend, he passed away. The Doctor felt physically sick as he watched the woman he had loved ever so much in another life cry over his body.

"He gave me something to give to his young daughter, he knew you were pregnant before he left to help his friend. But that was always like John, running off and helping people."

The string was scraggly, and the key had a little bit of rust but Joanne still let the Doctor put the key around her daughter's neck. She looked at it and began to suck the key ever so gently. Little Kirsten's eyes flashed yellow for a moment, like the energy in the heart of the Tardis. She was a Time lord all right. The Doctor had surmised that the gift had started to come out when the key stopped working, around the time that the Master had started manipulating the world.

He waved the family off, noticing the overcast skies overhead. In two days time, Joanne Presley would be dead, and Kirsten would be another orphan because of the constant war in the skies. But the Doctor knew that Kirsten, although biologically his daughter, wasn't his to claim. It was his previous incarnations, a man who for all intents and purposes was now dead. An orphan indeed.

X

Martha was nervous, but it was something she was going to have to get used to if she started working for UNIT. They had explained that they had worked with the Doctor in the past, on the same side, and she thought that working with them would be a good idea. They seemed almost desperate to get an old companion on the payroll.

In the Tardis, after the Doctor had said goodbye to Kirsten, he had come in and explained that Martha mustn't tell anyone about Kirsten's heritage or her talent. It was a secret, one that the Doctor trusted her with implicitly.

They embraced, and once again she said farewell to him. Tears trickled down her face as she began to walk across the road to her family home. Even though there was a boyfriend inside waiting for her, and a brother, and a sister, and a mother and a father, it all came down to the truth that her family was inside the blue box that was now disappearing.

"Martha Jones?" said a smiling blonde woman with a clipboard. She nodded, and was taken into the main area where her job would be explained to her. Tracking aliens and protecting humanity was a job that she could be proud of. But in the end, there was a higher authority she answered to, and that was the Doctor.

On her first day, Martha snuck into the file room and used a lighter to look through Kirsten's file that was in UNIT's archives. When she had surmised that they didn't know she was a Time lord, or she could read timelines, she burnt the file. Then she went to lunch.

X

Jack Harkness was looking over paper work from some of the other offices, when Ianto came up to him. Motioning him over, Jack could see that there was a dark look on his face.

"What's happened?"

Ianto took a seat and passed over a file to Jack.

"Kirsten Smith, the timeline girl at the Tyler Historical Centre? She's gone missing; reports say she's dead, Jack. The whole of her office was butchered and then the place was set alight. Her fiancé says that she came home that night, they had a family meal, and then she just disappeared. No trace, no word saying that she would come back. She got up to go to use the bathroom and then- nothing."

Jack turned his back on Ianto, staring into space. He had only met Kirsten a few times, but she was a lovely girl who didn't deserve anything that had happened to her. Her gift had gotten into this mess, Jack was sure of it.

"I hope you got her out of it, Doctor," Jack whispered, letting the words linger on the air.

X

The Doctor and the Master, two Time lords together again. One was reading a book in the corner of the Tardis, the latest _Richard and Judy_ winner, apparently. The other was staring out of the open doors onto the green sand of the latest planet they had landed on. The Doctor turned to the Master and watch him turn the pages of his book, absolutely riveted.

"You came back for me."

"Course I would. No fun without you to annoy, believe me."

He walked over to his comrade, and held down a silver key around a small chain. The Master looked up and watched the key dangle between the two men.

"What's that?"

"A key to a Tardis, located on Earth in a hidden place. Not all of them were destroyed, and I have a distinct feeling that yours will have a working chameleon circuit."

The Master took the key, and looked to the Doctor, concerned. "If I leave, then you'll be alone again."

"Yes, I will."

"What's the catch?"

The Doctor laughed and leaned against the main console of the Tardis.

"Kirsten is one of us, but her gift makes her a target. She needs to get off Earth, out of this galaxy, out of this time. Take her away, keep her safe. It's all I ask."

The Master nodded and smiled sadly. Looking at his old enemy and friend, he could see the sadness in the way he walked, the way he looked. He had just recovered another Time lord, and a daughter he never knew he had. He was going to give up his family to keep them safe.

"Keep out of trouble."

"You too."

X

She felt like screaming, and Kirsten Smith didn't feel that way very often. Bradley's family was talking and chatting about the wedding, laughing and smiling. His mother had enquired about who was going to walk her up the aisle, and Kirsten hadn't given it that much thought. _Maybe the Doctor would be able to stop investigating time and space to come_, she thought, _I might even invite the Master_.

Bradley was talking about politics, then moving onto football. He was handsome, intelligent and such a gentle soul. He loved her so much, so very much. And so did Kirsten, she supposed. She traced around the key that she kept around her neck, not wanting to ever let it go.

"Darling, what a horrible necklace to wear with such a lovely dress. I hope you won't be wearing that on your wedding day," Bradley's mother exclaimed, and Kirsten felt a distinct need to get the hell out of the room. Making her excuses, she left.

Even in the bathroom, she could hear the sound of his family talking about her. Weird young woman, always in her own head. What does she do again? What did her parents do? It's the foster system's fault, her strange attitude, I tell you.

Kirsten wondered if that's how Martha felt, addicted to the energy of the Time lords and the Tardis. Ever since she had disappeared, nearly killed and found out her true past, she hadn't been able to think of everything else since then. She traced the key with her fingers once again, and grasped it firmly in her hand.

The whirring of the Tardis began, and lights started to flash. The blue box came into view, and Kirsten felt overjoyed at the sight. However, it was not the Doctor who had come out of the machine, but the Master. The beating of heart told her that this was exactly the person she wanted it to be.

Walking over to him, she placed one hand against his chest and felt his heart beat. She then moved his tie over to the other side and felt the other heart beating. He was all Time lord, and the beat of the two hearts comforted her.

"You have a tie."

"I'm not with the Doctor anymore, so I can wear whatever I want. He's sent me out on my own, on a mission to keep you safe. So, here goes me playing Doctor again."

"Kirsten…will you be my assistant?" he asked, and she smiled and nodded. They shook hands, each gripping the others in a vice trying to out do each other.

The Master went back into the Tardis, and Kirsten turned to the restaurant where Bradley was waiting for her to return, where his family were waiting for more snipes about her. Through the doors she could see the Master waiting for her, and she stepped through into the machine, shutting the doors behind her. Bradley would never understand, but then neither did she quite yet. She vowed to come back and tell him one day the whole truth, but not today.

She rolled up the sleeves of her leather jacket, and began to help the Master press buttons on the console.

"That's my jacket."

"It looks better on me."

The Master pinned Kirsten to the console, and looked deep into her eyes. They sparked with yellow light, light like the light of all Time lords. This was going to be interesting. Very interesting.

"Can we lose the blue box look?"

"Happily."

Kirsten smiled, and leant against one of the arches, watching the Master work. He gave her a grin on the opposite side of the console, as he tried to figure out what some of the dials were meant to do. It was a symbiotic relationship: the Master was sent to protect her, she to keep him out of trouble. It was the start of a new adventure, the future of the Time lords, and Kirsten was excited at the prospect. And so was the Master.

--X--x--X--

**If you want to hear more about Kirsten and the Master, or indeed a continuation of this tale, let me know. That's all folks! xxx**


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